The Virginia General Assembly passed a new law earlier this year that prohibits state employees and contractors from using state equipment to access TikTok and other applications or websites developed by ByteDance and Tencent on Commonwealth-owned devices or internet networks, which includes devices and networks owned and operated by George Mason University. This change takes effect July 1, 2023.

Platforms and Equipment Affected

Employees and contractors for the university may not use university equipment or networks to access the following ByteDance applications: TikTok, Capcut, Hypic, and Ulike; and the following Tencent applications: WeChat, WeCom, Tencent QQ, QQmail, Tencent Video, and Tencent Music.

Removal of Apps

All apps for these platforms must be removed from university-owned devices by July 1. University-owned equipment includes mobile phones, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, or other devices capable of connecting to the internet. It does not include personal devices for which employees receive a stipend for work use.

Not Impacted

Access to the affected platforms on non-state devices, over non-university networks, and for personal business is not impacted. Certain employees may be granted access for law enforcement-related purposes. And students who are not employed by the university are not impacted.

Questions

For questions about university-owned devices and networks, please contact the ITS Support Center at 703-993-8870 or support@gmu.edu.

For questions related to administering university TikTok accounts, please contact Bronwyn Lonchamp, Executive Director of Digital Content & Distribution in the Office of University Branding, at blongcha@gmu.edu.